Who sings the song marking the passing of a soul when the person who has died is the one we turn to on such solemn and grave occasions? Who writes the obituary for the man who was responsible for marking the passing of so many greats in country music when he is now the one being eulogized?
Infinite apologies if you came here looking for your next favorite boot scooter, because that’s not what Song of the Year is all about. There will be a Single of the Year category coming up too. But what we’re looking for here is the most unabashedly slow and sentimental sad bastard songs possible.
The Railbird Festival has been around for a few years now, mixing Kentucky horse racing culture and the state’s favorite spirit of bourbon with a diverse musical experience. But in 2023, Railbird is leaning more into the independent country side of music and their Kentucky roots.
There is plenty to be sour about in the world here in 2022. But damn if it is hard to not be thankful for this year if your center of gravity is music from Texas and Oklahoma. Now Uncle Lucius is also giving us good news. We thought they’d played their final show in 2018 at Gruene Hall.
The real life stories of certain country music artists are sometimes even more intriguing and dramatic than the dramatized stories they tell in song. This was certainly the case for George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and their tumultuous marriage and working relationship.
2022 is a very unique year when it comes to albums to consider, since there are no clear front runners as we’re used to. No specific album or albums feel like undeniable masterpieces, but the albums at or near the top of the heap are so numerous, it’s painstakingly hard to delineate them from each other.
Here is the 2022 Saving Country Music Christmas Playlist. It is country. It is good. It is all new recordings of both classics and original songs released in 2022, delicately curated to remove anything that is too syrupy, too pop, or not cool. All the songs have been expertly arranged to be listened to consecutively.
The family of singer, songwriter, performer, producer, journalist, and historian Peter Cooper are asking for thoughts and prayers after the veteran member of the country music community suffered a head injury that was initially thought to be life threatening. He remains in critical condition.
One of the best things CMT did in the last decade was to air the limited series Sun Records back in 2017. Consisting of eight episodes written by Hank Williams biographer Colin Escott, and based off the Million Dollar Quartet musical, it captured the important moments that most all of popular music sprang from.
This movie is not what a lot of people were expecting when they heard that author Sally Denton’s book The Bluegrass Conspiracy: An Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs & Murder was being referenced to make a movie, at least judging from the trailer for the movie, and the description that accompanies it.
And now for something a bit off the beaten path, San Antonio’s resident throwback country weirdo freak, Garrett T. Capps, has tapped into country music’s underutilized cosmic influences in a collaboration with NASA Country, and created an immersive experience titled under the name ‘People are Beautiful.’
How much does the listening public care about a batch of ol’ stuffy bluegrass cover songs? Apparently quite a bit when they’re coming from Billy Strings. His recent collaboration with his dad Terry Barber has brought in career-record numbers for the bluegrass phenom, and put him at or near the top of charts.
If there is one instrument that is immediately identifiable with country music, it’s the pedal steel guitar. And just like an endangered species ripe for protection, preserving the pedal steel should be an imperative of society with the way its dialect of wails and moans mimic the tug and pull of human emotion.
Beloved RFD-TV country music television show Larry’s Country Diner is not going off the air. But it will not longer be producing new episodes, or at least that appears to be the case for the moment. After 14 seasons and 363 episodes, the latest season ended by airing two special tributes to the show.
Once again, Under The Big Sky Festival outside of Whitefish, Montana has wowed us all with their lineup announcement, and it underscores once again why this is arguably the premier event in independent country and Americana. With two stages, some 20,000 fans, and a curiously excellent curation of headliners…
Just like Billy Strings, the Turnpike Troubadours have weaseled their way into becoming an arena artist, at least in select markets. This week they announced they’ll be playing the immense American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX on February 25th, 2023, along with The Avett Brothers and The Wood Brothers.
What was supposed to be the most joyous day of his life ended up being his final one, as tears of happiness turned to tears of sorrow for his friends and loved ones. 37-year-old Oklahoma-based Red Dirt artist and songwriter Jake Flint passed away on Saturday, November 26th, only hours after getting married.
There are many iconic songs in the history of country music. But there are only a small handful that have gone on to define what it means when someone says “country music” to millions of people. The song “Behind Closed Doors” written by Kenny O’Dell, and performed by Charlie Rich is one of those songs.
Entrepreneur and small business owner, fashionista and self-made woman, singer and songwriter, Nikki Lane has staked her claim on being a woman in a man’s world, and on her latest album Denim & Diamonds, she doubles down. Full of affirmations on the importance of autonomy, self-reliance…
As the concert ended, the friends of Cory Barron couldn’t find him. They searched the entire ballpark, hung around to see if he would show up, called friends to confirm he didn’t leave with someone else, with no clue of where he’d disappeared to. By Saturday morning, a missing persons report was filed.
It may not be as obvious of an example as the little shop down the street in a strip mall selling handmade scented candles and hippie soap, but your favorite independent music artists are all most certainly small businesses as well. So are many of your favorite locally-owned music venues, local festivals…
The original impetus for Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music was to give a permanent home to the some 20,000 country music artifacts Marty Stuart has assembled over his career. If the show comes into full production, it will dovetail into what Marty Stuart is doing in his hometown.
It’s a tradition as tried and true as grandma’s pumpkin pie. Every year on Thanksgiving Day, a football team has to make the worst possible pick for a halftime performer from the dregs of pop country, and embarrass country music on a national stage like your drunk uncle going on a racist tirade in front of your fiance.
Beginning earlier in November—and rising to a fevered pitch over the last few days—there has been concern that the house of Hank Williams called Beechwood Hall is about to be demolished. But the house’s ties to country music and it’s history deserve greater context.
